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Tenses/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby It is the early 20th century. A boy, Tim, is wearing a tuxedo and standing onstage in front of an audience of robots. A drum rolls as he reaches into a hat and pulls out a rabbit. The audience applauds. The rabbit is holding a sheet of paper, which it hands to Tim. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What are the different tenses? From, Nozima. Tim faces his robot crowd. A sign on the stage reads: The Great Timothy, Master Conjugator. TIM: Ladies and gentlebots. Tonight, you shall experience feats of wonder which have never before been witnessed upon the stage. I, the Great Timothy, shall describe events that take place not only in the present time, but in the past and future as well! The audience groans. A robot in the front row shuts down. TIM: But first, I need a volunteer. Uh, how about you, sir? Tim points into the audience. A robot, Moby, stands. He is dressed in a suit and sports mutton-chop sideburns and a moustache. MOBY: Beep. Moby walks onto the stage and stands next to Tim. TIM: Now then, robot I've never met before, do you know what a verb is? MOBY: Beep. TIM: Correct. A verb is a word that describes an action. A graphic appears. It includes an arrow to indicate the presence of an action. TIM: For example: You walked onstage and answered a simple question. Images show Moby walking onstage and answering a question. TIM: Both walked and answered are verbs. The words walked and answered are highlighted in the text. TIM: Every verb has an infinitive form, which often begins with the word to. To walk, to answer, to catch. These are all infinitives. Text reads: to walk, to answer, to catch. TIM: But to describe events in the past, present, or future, I must conjugate, or change, these verbs. Specifically, I must drop the to and alter their endings. A timeline appears. It is divided into past, present, and future. TIM: So, without further ado, let us conjugate verbs in the present tense. In case you are unaware, ladies and gentlebots, verbs in the present tense describe events taking place right now. Permit me to use my celestial gifts to tell you about your present. A spotlight shines on Tim as he pretends to use magic to tell about Moby's life in the present. TIM: You live in South London and work at a factory. You drink a cup of tea every day at three PM and carry a silver watch in your waistcoat pocket. Text reads: live, work, drink, carry. TIM: Am I correct, sir? MOBY: Beep. Moby reaches into his pocket and produces a silver watch. The audience applauds. TIM: As you can see, conjugating verbs in the present tense is quite simple: In most cases, you just drop the to from the infinitive form. I work, you work, they work, and we work. Tim holds up a sign. Text on the sign reads: to work, I work, you work, they work, we work. TIM: When you describe the actions of a third person, though, you must add an s, as in he works, she works, and it works. Additional text on Tim's sign reads: he works, she works, it works. The s at the end of the word works highlights as Tim says each example aloud. TIM: Irregular verbs are another exception. These strange creatures cannot be conjugated in the ordinary way; instead, each has a unique form. The crowd gasps. TIM: A common example is the verb to be. Text reads: to be. TIM: You cannot say, I be, he bes, they be. Text examples appear as Tim says them. TIM: Instead, you must say, I am, he is, they are. Text changes to read: I am, he is, they are. TIM: And now I require another volunteer. You, sir! There is applause. Moby steps onstage again. This time, he is dressed in a green suit and a green derby hat, and he has different facial hair than before. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Excellent. Now, perfect stranger, let us use the past tense to describe events from long ago. The past/present/future timeline reappears. The word past is highlighted. TIM: After you graduated from school, you joined the foreign service, where you rescued a princess from a rogue elephant. As a reward, she presented you with a 12-carat emerald in the shape of a panther. Am I correct? Tim pretends to use magic to find out about Moby's past. Text reads: graduated, joined, rescued, presented. MOBY: Beep. Moby reaches into his pocket and produces a panther-shaped emerald. The audience applauds. Moby leaves the stage. TIM: As you can see, the method for conjugating verbs in the past tense is effortless. Just add -ed to the end of your verb and, by Jove, you've done it. Text reads: -ed. TIM: The -ed ending doesn't change, whether you're describing an action taken by yourself, another person, or a group of people. Tim holds up a sign. Text on the sign reads: to walk, I walked, you walked, he walked, they walked, we walked. TIM: I walked, you walked, he walked, they walked, we walked. The -ed at the end of walked highlights as Tim says each example aloud. TIM: But sadly, I must inform you that irregular verbs are far more common in the past tense than they are in the present tense. For example, you wouldn't say, I readed the complete stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moby sits in a chair. He is reading the book Sherlock Holmes, A Case of Identity. Several of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's other books are stacked on a stand next to Moby. Text reads: I readed the complete stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. TIM: Instead, you would say, I read the stories. The text changes to read: I read the complete stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. TIM: And you wouldn't say, he fighted in the Crimean War. A uniformed Moby rides a horse into battle. Text reads: He fighted in the Crimean War. TIM: You would say, he fought in the war. Text changes to read: He fought in the Crimean War. TIM: If you desire a complete list of these irregular verbs, you can look them up in a book or on the World Wide Web, when it's invented in 100 years or so. An image shows a book entitled Verbs and Beyond. A second image shows a web page that conjugates irregular verbs. TIM: Speaking of the future, I shall need another volunteer. You, madam! Tim gestures to someone in the audience. The audience applauds as Moby returns to the stage. Moby is dressed in a woman's Victorian clothing. MOBY: Beep. TIM: My, what a charming lass. Now, allow me to conjure your secrets from the Great Beyond! Tim closes his eyes and concentrates as he pretends to use magic to find out about Moby's future. TIM: Let me see. After this performance, you will board a train to Cambridge, and you are going to sit by the window. You will dine with a friend, and you are going to eat roast beef. Text reads: will board, are going to sit, will dine, are going to eat. MOBY: Beep. Moby produces a train ticket and a reservation at a steak house, proving that Tim's predictions were correct. The audience applauds. TIM: To conjugate verbs in the future tense, you keep the infinitive form and add the word will in front of them. Text reads: I eat, you eat, they eat, we eat. Text changes to read: I will eat, you will eat, they will eat, we will eat. TIM: You may also use going to with the appropriate conjugation of to be. Additional text reads: I am going to sit, you are going to sit, they are going to sit, we are going to sit. The audience applauds. TIM: Thank you, thank you. And now the Great Timothy will take some questions. A robot tries to catch Tim's attention. ROBOT: Beep beep. The robot raises its hand. ROBOT: Beep beep beep beep beep. TIM: Ah. There are indeed other tenses beyond the ones I described. Behold, if you will, this chart I have prepared. These perfect tenses describe events that don't neatly fit into the past, present, and future. Tim holds up a sign. Text on the sign reads: I have loved, I had loved, I will have loved. TIM: For example, the present perfect tense often describes actions from the past that affect the present. An animation shows a young couple falling in love in the past portion of a timeline. Then they move to the present portion of the timeline, where they become an elderly couple in love. TIM: When I say, I have spent 10 years studying magic, I'm indicating that I have studied magic in the past and also continue to do so today. An image shows Tim studying a book of magic. Text reads: I have spent 10 years studying magic. TIM: And the past perfect is often used alongside the past tense to describe events that occurred even further back in time. So, I never had met my volunteers before I walked onstage tonight. An image shows Tim with his arm around Moby's shoulders. Pieces from Moby's disguises are on a table in front of them. Text reads: I never had met my volunteers before I walked on stage tonight. The words had met highlight as Tim says them. TIM: One final question, perhaps? Several robots in the audience beep, chirp, and twitter. TIM: Now, hold on. You're saying that all three of my volunteers tonight were really the same robot, in different disguises? The robots beep, chirp, and twitter some more. TIM: You state that this robot and I have been friends for years, that I did not really read his mind, and that I am a complete fraud? The robots continue to beep, chirp, and twitter. TIM: Well, I would love to answer that question, but I'm afraid I've run out of time. Good night, everyone! Tim touches his chest. There is a small explosion, and he vanishes. The audience continues to make electronic noises, and some audience members throw tomatoes at the stage. A robot, Little Jimmy, comes out and replaces Tim's sign with one of his own. Text on the sign reads: Little Jimmy, Master of the Concertina. Little Jimmy begins to play a concertina very badly, and the tomato throwing resumes. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts